A recent switched-replication randomized study by Jones and Li evaluated the effect of Future Forward on school attendance, social-emotional learning, and reading outcomes. Future Forward is a program that pairs paraprofessionals with early elementary students to provide one-on-one literacy tutoring for three 30-minute sessions per week. Additionally, a family engagement coordinator organizes events and communicates with families about student progress throughout the program.
The study was conducted in three schools that partnered with their local Boys and Girls Club to implement the intervention. Study participants included students in kindergarten through grade 3. Participants were randomly assigned to receive the Future Forward intervention (n=65) or business as usual instruction (n=62). The intervention was implemented from October 2021 to January 2022, with the average student participating in 25.5 sessions, or 2.6 30-minute sessions per week. Additionally, on average, program staff engaged with families 1.5 times each month.
